2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season (Sassmaster15
The 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season was a slightly above-average season containing 22 total depressions, 21 named storms, 15 hurricanes, of which six became major hurricanes. The season was about normal in activity, but featured 3 Category 5 hurricanes, thus resulting in the ranking of "Slightly Above Average." The season also featured four devastating off-season tropical cyclones, which were not counted as part of the original season. These off-season storms are recorded as some of the most intense hurricanes in history. Season Summary Since 2016, the Atlantic Ocean had been showing signs of re-intensifying. 2016 was the year of a La Nina, resulting in a hyper-active season containing many record-breaking storms, including 10 major hurricanes and five Category 5 storms. 2017 was more relaxed, with only 3 major hurricanes, none of which were Category 5. 2018, a Modoki El Nino - type year, showcases the intense nature of hurricanes, especially the major storms, but was not as record-breaking as the 2016 season. The season opened with Tropical Storm Alicia and ended with Tropical Storm Tori. Pre-Season Forecasts The NHC forecasted a below-average season for the Atlantic following the development of an El Nino event in early 2017. At the end of 2017, the El Nino weakened almost entirely, but did not dissipate. In late January 2018, the El Nino strengthened into a strong - Modoki El Nino, which typically results in a slow start to a season, but typically allows for strong hurricane development mid-way through the season. Because of this, the 2018 season looked very much like the 2004 season, the year of the last Modoki El Nino. The season officially started June 1, following the development of a pre-season Tropical Storm named Alicia. The storm officially started on May 28, but died a few days after the official start of the season on June 4. Because of this development, the NHC revised their predictions from 17 depressions, 15 named storms, and 9 hurricanes including 4 major hurricanes to 25 depressions, 20 named storms, and 14 hurricanes including 6 major hurricanes. In reality, the actual activity recorded was 22 total depressions, 21 named storms, and 15 hurricanes including 6 major hurricanes. Storms Tropical Storm Alicia On May 28, a low-pressure system moving northwest out of Puerto Rico became a subtropical depression 25 miles north of San Juan. On May 29, the system became fully tropical and strengthened, quite unusually, into Tropical Storm Alicia as a pre-season storm. On June 1, the official start of the 2018 Atlantic season, Alicia continued on a slow track northeast at 45 MPH, passing to the north of Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic, producing indirect effects on the city. On June 2, Alicia weakened back into a depression and dissipated 30 miles away from Turks and Caicos on June 4. The storm resulted in minimal damage and no fatalities. Hurricane Blake Just 30 miles east of Turks and Caicos, a new non-tropical low-pressure system started to develop on June 6. On June 7, the low took on subtropical characteristics and became Subtropical Depression Two. At 11:30 P.M. EST, the depression became fully tropical and continued rapid intensification while moving northwest at 30 MPH. Early June 8, the NHC issued a Tropical Storm Watch for Bermuda as the now-tropical depression became Tropical Storm Blake. Because of its explosive intensification over a relatively short period of time, the NHC gave Blake a high chance of development. On June 10, Blake strengthened into a Category 1 Hurricane with 85 MPH winds. Instead of continuing Northeast towards Bermuda, Blake took a hard West turn and made landfall in Daytona Beach, FL on June 11 as a rapidly weakening Category 1 hurricane, causing the NHC to issue an emergency mandatory evacuation for all residents of Eastern Florida. The storm caused torrential rainfall on the day of its landfall; some areas calculating over 6" of rain fell during the storm, resulting in flash flooding and dangerous driving conditions. The next day, the storm moved out of Florida and became extratropical over Sugar Hill, GA. The remnants of Blake were still equivalent to that of a Category 1 storm, producing 75 MPH winds that caused widespread power outages and heavy tree damage. In total, Blake resulted in a total of $157 million in damages and caused 8 fatalities in the U.S. Subtropical Storm Caleb On June 21, the NHC kept watch on a non-tropical low-pressure zone of disturbed weather 235 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. The NHC gave it a 25% of strengthening into a subtropical depression. On June 22, moving Northeast at 20 MPH, the system achieved subtropical depression status. Within a few hours, the system slowly became more organized and strengthened into a subtropical storm, earning the name "Caleb." However, Caleb underwent an eyewall replacement cycle early June 23, resulting in a heavily weakened storm. Within hours, Caleb dissipated Northeast of Puerto Rico, having traveled only 187 miles within a period of 3 days. Caleb never made landfall, having resulted in no damage and zero fatalities. Tropical Depression Four On June 27, a tropical wave associated with strong showers and thunderstorms moved into the Gulf of Mexico. Later that day, the system officially formed into Tropical Depression Four. However, high levels of wind shear prevented further development, despite other favorable conditions including warm water temperatures of 87º Fahrenheit and high levels of humidity and moisture in the atmosphere. On June 29, TD Four lost its circulation and started to fall apart. It made landfall in Houma, LA that day, having lost its tropical characteristics and being nothing more than a disorganized squall line. The system later died that day over northern Louisiana due to land interaction and merging with another anti-tropical low over Arkansas. TD Four caused very minimal damage and resulted in no fatalities. Hurricane Dana On July 5, the NHC began to monitor a tropical depression that formed ten miles east of Barbados in the Lesser Antilles. Over the next several days, wind shear levels increased and the depression changed little in intensity. On July 8, the depression crossed over the Lesser Antilles, moving northwest at 10 MPH. In the Caribbean, the depression became a tropical storm named Dana. Moving at a slow pace northwest, Dana continued to intensify, becoming a Category 1 hurricane just southeast of Cuba on July 9. Later that day, Dana made landfall as an 80 MPH storm in Santiago de Cuba, causing somewhat considerable damage to poorly-maintained and weak structures and causing extensive damage to crops and localized farms. Dana briefly weakened back to a tropical storm after making landfall in Cuba, but once again re-intensified and peaked as an 85 MPH storm whilst over Turks and Caicos. However, a cold front moving east off of Florida caught the storm and caused to dissipate north of the Bahamas on July 12. In total, the relatively weak storm caused $125 million in damages and resulted in two fatalities. Hurricane Emilio On July 9, the NHC began to monitor a tropical disturbance near Cape Verde, giving the organizing system a high chance of development at 65%. Within hours, Tropical Depression Six was born. Continuing on a shifted track NNW, Six became Tropical Storm Emilio on July 10. The next few days, Emilio stalled fifty miles NNW of Cape Verde after colliding with a high-pressure system. On July 15, the storms moved past each other and Emilio quickly strengthened to a C1 over the Northern Atlantic. Over the next few days, Emilio continued to grow and increase in intensity, becoming a Category 3 on July 17, making Emilio the first major hurricane of the season. On July 18, abrupt wind shifts in the upper atmosphere caused Emilio to weaken back to a Category 2 and turn Northeast. On July 19, Emilio became a Category 1 equivalent extratropical storm with 75 MPH winds. By July 20, the remnants of Emilio made landfall in Lisbon, Portugal, causing extensive wind damage; including broken windows, felled trees, power outages, and even a small EF1 tornado just north of Beja, Portugal. By the time Emilio dissipated on July 21, the storm caused $18 billion in damages and resulted in sixteen fatalities. Hurricane Fernanda Tropical Storm Gale Hurricane Hallie Storm Names The following list down below consists of all names considered for the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season. All 21 names A-T were used. Post-Season Storms Hurricane Floyd (dedicated to StrawberryMaster) Hurricane Floyd was the first of four major off-season storms that caused extensive damage across the entire Atlantic. Floyd developed as tropical depression in the Caribbean on December 6. The storm continued to intensify, becoming Tropical Storm Floyd on December 8. Intensification continued into December 9, when Floyd then became a Category 1 hurricane south of Cuba. December 10 is when real strengthening took place. Floyd became a powerful Category 3 storm, moving almost west throughout the Caribbean. Later that day, during a Hurricane Hunters examination of the storm, Floyd was revealed to be a Category 4 hurricane with winds near 150 MPH. At 11 P.M. EST, Floyd underwent an eyewall replacement cycle that prohibited further development of the storm. In a half hour, Floyd made landfall in Cancún as a rapidly weakening Category 2 storm that, due to the eyewall replacement cycle, was producing 100 MPH winds but very light rain. Floyd dissipated on December 11 after breaking apart completely, having caused $40 billion in damages and twenty-six deaths. Hurricane Bob (dedicated to Bobnekaro) On December 16, a rare subtropical depression had formed Southeast of Puerto Rico. The system intensified rapidly, alerting NHC scientists to keep a cautious eye on it after Hurricane Floyd that occurred just days before. By December 17, the system was well-defined with strong eyewall structure and a small eye. Because the storm took on tropical characteristics rather quickly, the NHC gave the rapidly intensifying storm a high chance of development at 70%. The storm, now a Category 1 hurricane named Bob, traveled throughout the Caribbean, staying south of Haiti. On December 19, Bob became a Category 2 whilst slamming into Jamaica, causing over $85 billion in damages and nearly 50 fatalities. Bob did not weaken over Jamaica, and continued to plow across the Caribbean and then made landfall in the Cayman Islands as a Category 2. Afterwards, Bob brushed part of the Yucatán Peninsula and then entered the Gulf of Mexico on December 21, intensifying to Category 4, skipping over C3 status. The U.S. Government issued mandatory evacuation for all residents in the Gulf Coast. By December 22, Bob was at peak intensity, with winds of 155 MPH and a pressure of 920 mbar. There is a very plausible possibility that Bob briefly attained C5 status before making landfall in Mississippi as a strong Category 4 hurricane. Bob caused extreme damage across the Mississippi Coast; including widespread power outages, massive flooding, heavily damaged buildings, and obliterated houses. On December 23, Bob became extratropical over Tennessee and dissipated later that night, having caused over $200 billion in damages and nearly 200 fatalities. Hurricane Dane (dedicated to CycloneNkechinyer) A tropical disturbance had developed near Cape verde on December 18, and quickly became a tropical depression a few hours later. The storm moved west across the mid-atlantic where unusually warm water temperatures of 88º Fahrenheit allowed the depression to become a tropical storm named Dane. With the activity in the Caribbean and the intensity of Hurricane Bob, the NHC kept a very close watch on Tropical Storm Dane. Only a day after forming, Dane became a Category 1 hurricane on December 19, moving west, away from Cape Verde. Convection continued to build up in the storm, allowing it to continue to strengthen to a Category 2. Because of this, the NHC issued a hurricane advisory for the Lesser Antilles on December 21, as Dane was approaching and forecasted to make landfall on December 22. However, a wind shift sent Dane Northeast, away from the islands and back over the mid-atlantic. The storm produced indirect effects on the islands, including strong rip currents that resulted in the sinking of a small boat that disappeared off the coast of Barbados on December 22, when the NHC issued an alert to not go out on the water that day. Here, under favorable conditions, Dane continued to flourish, becoming a powerful Category 4 hurricane. The storm continued to track northeast, several hundred miles off-shore from the U.S. On December 24, Dane became a C5 storm while over the Northern Atlantic. By 9 P.M. EST, Dane had weakened back down to a Category 1 the next day, and on December 26, the storm had become extratropical, even though the storm was still producing hurricane-force winds in excess of 90 MPH. On December 27, the remnants of Dane made landfall in the UK, equivalent to that of a strong C1 storm. Because of the intensity of the storm, Dane caused widespread blackouts across the country. Dane was also responsible for severe damage of Buckingham Palace, after the intense 90 MPH winds knocked down a large tree on Buckingham's grounds that ripped out a natural gas line to the building, resulting in a powerful explosion that caused severe damage to the building and resulting in the deaths of two workers. The remnants of Dane officially dissipated 30 miles east of England on December 30, resulting in five deaths and over $90 billion in damages, much of it attributed to the explosion at Buckingham Palace. Hurricane Thomas (dedicated to Hypercane) On December 21, another tropical disturbance had developed near Cape Verde and quickly intensified. By December 23, the system became a Tropical Depression moving Northwest across the mid-atlantic. On December 24, the system became Tropical Storm Thomas. Convection continued to increase at the center of the storm as an eye developed. Later that day, Thomas became a Category 1 hurricane which crossed into the Northern Atlantic, crossing paths with the more powerful Hurricane Dane and interacting with the storm. On December 25, Thomas rapidly intensified again, strengthening into a Category 4. By December 26, Thomas was forecasted to make landfall in North Carolina by December 31, having crossed into the Northern Atlantic. Later that day, favorable conditions continued, allowing Thomas to become a Category 6 hurricane with winds over 200 MPH and a pressure of 885 mbar. The NHC issued mandatory emergency evacuations in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia in order to prepare for the catastrophic storm. Meanwhile, the powerful hurricane made landfall in Bermuda shortly after reaching peak intensity. Bermuda was severely affected by the storm, including being pounded by twenty-five foot waves and 200 MPH winds. By the time Thomas was done with the island, there was almost nothing left. The storm caused over $250 billion in damages and resulted in over 1,000 deaths. Approaching the North Carolina coast, Thomas had weakened back to a Category 4. Extreme preparations had been taken in the U.S. following the colossal devastation in Bermuda. Waves gauged as high as fifteen feet pounded the East Coast, still stirred up from when Thomas was a C6. On December 30, Thomas made landfall in the Outer Banks, NC as a weakening Category 4 storm, with 140 MPH winds. Thomas caused torrential rainfall, as much as 7" fell during the storm. On January 2, 2019, Thomas dissipated over Virginia, having been one of the strongest and most destructive cyclones of all time. The name Thomas was immediately retired following the storm's dissipation due to extreme damage and a high number of fatalities that exceeded 300,000 deaths.Category:Future hurricane seasons Category:Atlantic hurricane seasons Category:Slightly Above Average Category:Future hurricane seasons Category:Future Tropical Cyclone Season Category:Atlantic hurricanes Category:Active hurricane seasons Category:Subtropical Cyclones Category:Cyclones Category:Typhoons Category:Future seasons Category:Sassmaster15 Category:HurricaneHistory Category:Medicanes Category:Gift Storms Category:Season collabs Category:Future Tropical Cyclone Seasons Category:Hurricanes Category:Future Season Category:Category 5 hurricanes